Week in Review: May 13 – May 17, 2019

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“Larry’s All Natural, a Slingerlands Mexican foods company run by Larry Sombke, has introduced a line of salsas to his line of Mexican cooking sauces.

Larry’s Mild and Medium Chunky Salsa are being sold now through at least 30 local grocery stores and supermarkets and are also now available outside the region in places like Syracuse and New Rochelle.”

“Hacker Boat Co. owner George Badcock will move his handmade mahogany boat factory from Ticonderoga to Queensbury if he is able to reach an agreement with the owner of a warehouse complex near the Interstate 87 Northway.

Badcock is negotiating with Robert Perkins, owner of Perkins Recycling at 315 Corinth Road, who has received multiple offers for the 6.4-acre property.”

“General Electric shipped a record 944,000-pound generator from its Schenectady factory through the Port of Albany this weekend, a move officials say cements the port’s stature as the premier destination for heavy-lift cargo in the Northeast.

“This is the beginning of the future that everybody here has been working toward,” said port general manager Rich Hendrick.”

“The Luther Forest Technology Campus in Saratoga County is on the short list to become home to a 400,000-square-foot manufacturing plant that would employ at least 130 people.

InSite Real Estate of Oak Brook, Illinois, is negotiating to bring an international manufacturer related to the food industry to a 165-acre property near the GlobalFoundries computer chip complex in the Saratoga County towns of Malta and Stillwater, according to Dennis Brobston, president of the Saratoga Economic Development Corp.”

“Rivers Casino and Resort in Schenectady has started construction on its new sports betting lounge.

Construction is expected to be completed this summer on the area within the casino, called the “Rivers Sportsbook.” The lounge will open before this fall’s NFL season, pending New York State Gaming Commission approval.”

“Colonie planning board members were scheduled to get a first look at the proposed 36,000-square foot expansion of the Philips Medical Systems manufacturing plant in Latham Tuesday night.

The expansion of the plant at 450 Old Niskayuna Road, which manufactures components for magnetic resonance imaging scanners, is expected to preserve more than 400 jobs and create another 94 jobs over the next five years, according to an announcement earlier this month from Empire State Development. ESD is providing up to $1 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits.”

“New York’s economic development agency this morning approved a $10.1 million grant for Capitalize Albany Corp. to buy land on the south side of downtown Albany where a convention center was originally planned.

The proposed funding from Empire State Development would be a huge step in the city’s efforts to convert land near the Trailways/Greyhound bus station into a large, mixed-use with development with apartments, offices and entertainment.”

“One of the heaviest shipments so far this year at the Port of Albany is the 24,000 tons of steel it is currently receiving, all destined for the 1,000-vehicle parking garage being built at the Albany International Airport.

The airport is expecting 486 steel beams, all made in the United States, that will be used to support the five-story parking structure. The garage is expected to open March 31, 2020, less than a year from now.”

“GE Power, which has a significant presence in Schenectady, is moving toward recovery, with new orders and a three-year turnaround plan.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that GE Power had booked six orders for “advanced class” turbines in the first quarter, booking more than competitors Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems and Siemens AG. That news prompted a rise in GE’s stock price Tuesday.”

“The unifying theme of Heidi Knoblauch’s widely varied academic and career pursuits has been critical thought.

“There’s nothing that will ever replace the time you think about things,” she told an appreciative audience Thursday at one of the monthly entrepreneurship luncheons sponsored by the New York BizLab and Clarkson University at the BizLab.”